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Sun Life Financial to increase its shareholding in Birla Sun Life Insurance from 26% to 49%

Investment will strengthen long-standing partnership with the Aditya
Birla Group in India, a major growth market for Sun Life in Asia

MUMBAI, India and TORONTO, Dec. 2, 2015 /CNW/ - Sun Life Financial Inc.
("Sun Life") (TSX: SLF) (NYSE: SLF) and Aditya Birla Nuvo Limited ("ABNL"), a part of the Aditya Birla
Group ("ABG"), announced today an agreement for Sun Life to increase
its ownership in Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited ("BSLI") from
26% to 49% by purchasing additional BSLI shares from ABNL for
consideration of Rs. 16.64 billion (approximately C$340 million).

BSLI is one of two India joint ventures established between ABG and Sun
Life. BSLI commenced business in 2001 and has a customer base of 1.6
million individual policyholders and an extensive distribution reach
across 418 cities through a network of over 55,000 advisors in 489
branches. Sun Life's second joint venture with ABG is Birla Sun Life
Asset Management Company Limited, the fourth largest mutual fund
company in India with assets under management of Rs. 1,387 billion
(approximately C$28 billion), in which Sun Life owns 49%.1

The increased stake in BSLI aligns with Sun Life's objective of
expanding its presence in markets with strong growth opportunities.

"Increasing our ownership position in BSLI, one of India's leading
private life insurers, in partnership with a well-respected partner in
Aditya Birla Group, in the world's second most populous country with
strong growth prospects, is exactly on strategy and supports our
aspirations for Sun Life Asia as one of our four pillars of growth,"
said Dean Connor, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sun Life
Financial.

"In Sun Life, our joint venture partner, we find many synergies that are
reflective of their belief and commitment towards the Indian market.
Both Sun Life and ABNL have closely partnered in building this business
to its current scale, investing heavily in both capital and resources.
I am confident this move will only strengthen our long standing
partnership and help realize our vision of being a top three private
life insurer in India," said Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya
Birla Nuvo and BSLI.

"We are pleased to be increasing Sun Life's presence in India where we
see significant growth potential with a strong partner in an
established business with a growing client base. Today's announcement
builds upon our recently announced investment in Vietnam which will see
us become a majority shareholder of our business there," said Kevin
Strain, President, Sun Life Financial Asia. "Across Asia, we are
building strong distribution and product strength to help clients
achieve lifetime financial security."

BSLI has a strong and professional management team. Sun Life and ABNL
have partnered closely since 2001 to invest in and build the business
to its current scale. BSLI spans all customer segments nationwide to
help clients secure their financial futures.

The acquisition is expected to be accretive, adding C$0.01 per share to
Sun Life's earnings in 2016. The transaction is expected to close by
the end of Q1 2016, subject to regulatory approvals and customary
closing conditions. The acquisition will be financed using cash and is
not expected to impact the Minimum Continuing Capital and Surplus
Requirements ratio of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada.

Forward-looking information
In this news release, "we", "our" and "us" refer to Sun Life and its
subsidiaries and joint ventures. Certain statements in this news
release are forward-looking, including those relating to, (1) our
growth strategies, strategic objectives, accretion and earnings per
share, (2) the growth prospects of India and our business there, (3)
the expected timing of the closing of the transaction, (4) the source
of funding, (5) the expected impact on the Minimum Continuing Capital
and Surplus Requirements ratio of Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada,
and other statements that are not historical or are predictive in
nature or that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions.
Forward-looking statements may also include words such as "aim",
"anticipate", "assumption", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect",
"goal", "intend", "may", "objective", "outlook", "plan", "project",
"seek", "should", "initiatives", "strategy", "strive", "target", "will"
and similar expressions. All such forward-looking statements are made
pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of applicable Canadian
securities laws and of the United States Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995.

The forward-looking statements in this news release represent our
current expectations, estimates and projections regarding future events
and are not historical facts. These forward-looking statements are not
a guarantee of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties
and are based on key factors and assumptions that are difficult to
predict, including the assumption that the transaction will be
completed. The forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential
impact of any non-recurring or other special items or of any
dispositions, mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations or
other transactions that may be announced or that may occur after
December 2, 2015. If any non-recurring or other special item or any
transaction should occur, the financial impact could be complex and the
effect on our operations or results would depend on the facts
particular to such item and we cannot describe the expected impact in a
meaningful way or in the same way we could present known risks
affecting our business. The forward-looking statements contained in
this news release describe our expectations, estimates and projected
future events as at December 2, 2015. Except as may be required by
Canadian securities laws, we do not undertake any obligation to update
or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this news
release.

Forward-looking statements are presented to assist investors and others
in understanding our expected financial position and results of
operations as at December 2, 2015, as well as our objectives for the
transaction, strategic priorities and business outlook following the
transaction, and in obtaining a better understanding of our anticipated
operating environment following the transaction. Readers are cautioned
that such forward-looking statements may not be appropriate for other
purposes and undue reliance should not be placed on these
forward-looking statements.

The realization of our forward-looking statements essentially depends on
our business performance which, in turn, is subject to many risks,
including the failure of the parties to obtain necessary consents and
approvals for the completion of the transaction in a timely manner, or
at all. Other important risk factors that could cause our actual
results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the
forward-looking statements in this news release are listed in the
annual information form of Sun Life Financial Inc. for the year ended
December 31, 2014 under the heading "Risk Factors" and other of our
regulatory filings filed with or furnished to Canadian and U.S.
securities regulators available at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov.

Use of non-IFRS financial measures
This news release includes certain forward-looking financial information
using non-International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS")
financial measures, including anticipated accretion and estimated
earnings per share ("EPS") impact in 2016, as we believe that these
measures provide information that is useful to investors in
understanding our expected performance.

These non-IFRS financial measures do not have any standardized meaning,
may not be comparable with similar measures used by other companies and
there are no directly comparable amounts under IFRS. Forward-looking
non-IFRS financial measures cannot be reconciled to IFRS measures.
These non-IFRS financial measures should not be viewed as alternatives
to measures of financial performance determined in accordance with
IFRS.

About Birla Sun Life Insurance
Birla Sun Life Insurance Company Limited (BSLI) is a joint venture
between the Aditya Birla Group, a leading Indian conglomerate and Sun
Life Financial Inc., one of the leading international financial
services organizations from Canada. With experience of over a decade,
BSLI has contributed to the growth and development of the Indian life
insurance industry and is currently one of the leading life insurance
companies in the country. BSLI has a customer base of 1.6 million
individual policyholders. The company offers a complete range of
offerings comprising protection solutions, children's future solutions,
wealth with protection solutions, health and wellness solutions,
retirement solutions and savings with protection solutions. For more
information, please visit www.insurance.birlasunlife.com.

About Sun Life Financial
Celebrating 150 years in 2015, Sun Life Financial is a leading
international financial services organization providing a diverse range
of protection and wealth products and services to individuals and
corporate customers. Sun Life Financial and its partners have
operations in a number of markets worldwide, including Canada, the
United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong Kong, the Philippines,
Japan, Indonesia, India, China, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia
and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2015, the Sun Life Financial group of
companies had total assets under management of C$846 billion. For more
information please visit www.sunlife.com.

Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New York (NYSE) and
Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the ticker symbol SLF.

About Aditya Birla Nuvo Ltd.
Aditya Birla Nuvo is a USD 4.4 billion conglomerate operating in the
services and the manufacturing sectors, where it commands a leadership
position. Its service sector businesses include Financial Services,
Fashion & Lifestyle and Telecom. It is a leading player in Linen, Agri,
Rayon and Insulators businesses. ABNL is foraying into the Health
Insurance and the Solar Power businesses. It has received an
in-principle approval from Reserve Bank of India to set up a Payments
Bank in joint venture with Idea Cellular. For more information, please
visit www.adityabirlanuvo.com.

Aditya Birla Nuvo is a part of the Aditya Birla Group, a USD 41 billion
Indian multinational. The Aditya Birla Group is in the league of
Fortune 500. Anchored by an extraordinary force of over 120,000
employees, belonging to 42 nationalities, the Aditya Birla Group
operates in 36 countries across the globe. Over 50 per cent of its
revenues flow from its overseas operations. For more information,
please visit www.adityabirla.com.